Redford Union Schools District No. 1

Redford Union Schools District No. 1 serves about 1,995 students across 7 schools in the Redford, Michigan area, including two elementary schools, one junior high, three high school options, and one alternative school, with all schools currently holding 1-star ratings.

For parents comparing schools, Redford Union Junior High stands out as the strongest academic performer in the district, leading in 8th grade PSAT English Language Arts (36.8% proficient) and 9th grade PSAT ELA (37.1%), while also showing year-over-year improvement in 7th grade ELA. Beech Elementary is the most improved school, with notable gains in 6th grade ELA jumping from 17.2% to 29.1% proficiency and 4th grade ELA rising to 31.7%. Among high schools, Veritas achieves the highest graduation rate at 74% despite serving the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students (91% free/reduced lunch) and spending the least per student ($17,724). In contrast, Keeler School, the alternative school, spends $72,213 per student with a 6.1:1 student-teacher ratio but reports a 0% graduation rate and 75% dropout rate. Redford Union High School posts the best traditional high school graduation rate at 78.3%, while Redford Union Virtual Learning lags significantly at 48.7%.

The district faces serious systemic challenges, with chronic absenteeism affecting over half of all students (54.5% district-wide versus 27.9% statewide) and academic proficiency running 15-30 points below state averages across most subjects. A concerning pattern emerges where student performance declines as they advance through grade levels, with 10th grade PSAT math proficiency dropping to just 6.1%. Social studies is the relative bright spot, with high school proficiency (37.8%) nearly matching the state average (43.2%). Parents should also note the dramatic 5th grade math proficiency cliff at Beech Elementary, falling from 28.3% in 4th grade to 8.1% in 5th grade, and the inconsistent performance at Hilbert Elementary School, which shows large year-to-year swings that may reflect high student mobility or small cohort sizes.